Intrepid Travel flagship Global Summit in Sri Lanka a success

Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest adventure travel company, successfully hosted its largest and most impactful Global Summit event (24-27 February) in Sri Lanka, bringing together 200 international team members representing over 50 nationalities, alongside 300 local Sri Lankan team members, for a week of collaboration, connection and celebration. 

This marks only the second time the company has hosted the event outside its headquarters in Melbourne, Australia. Intrepid’s team in Colombo is its largest worldwide and they support significant travel operations in Sri Lanka, as well as shared services for the global business. The summit is estimated to have injected more than Rs. 50 million into the Sri Lankan economy.

The week-long gathering including Intrepid’s Board, co-founders, and core management team culminated in a full-day conference held at BMICH, a landmark venue in Colombo on 27 February, with 2,500+ additional office staff and leaders from across the globe being invited to tune in via livestream and locally hosted office events. Further the week activated around Intrepid’s purpose commitments through championing in fundraising, community engagement, and advocacy to reduce single-use plastic and promote recycling in collaboration with the Intrepid Foundation’s local partner, Zero Plastic Movement.

The Summit Day was structured around Intrepid’s new brand positioning and more than 45 speakers on stage including tour leaders. It was emceed by two members of Intrepid’s global team recognised as ‘top talent’, Peru General Manager Fernando Rodriguez and local Sri Lankan based Destination Product Manager Pramali Fernando.

Several key developments were announced, including: Intrepid will expand its global presence by opening new country offices, increasing from 28 to at least 33 within the next 12 months, with further expansions planned for 2027 and 2028. Intrepid’s chair Darrel Wade also revealed the company will pay dividends for the second consecutive year, supporting its staff shareholding scheme, which includes 555 staff shareholders across 12 countries including Sri Lanka. Additionally, bonus payments and enhanced bonuses in the form of shares were announced for eligible staff.

CEO James Thornton praised the team for achieving all 2024 company goals and outlined future growth plans, with audited results to be published in the company’s annual report later this month. A new talent development program was introduced to fast-track the development of future leaders. 

The appointment of Intrepid’s first Chief Marketing Officer, Hazel McGuire, who will be responsible for leading the company’s global marketing and growth strategy and ambition to become a global iconic brand. McGuire is currently Intrepid’s General Manager, UK Sales and Marketing and her appointment follows an extensive global recruitment campaign. The role became available following the appointment of former Chief Customer Officer Leigh Barnes to President of the Americas. As part of the marking the summit first time in in Sri Lanka, the “Hello Zero” elephant sculpture made from plastic waste was unveiled by Zero Plastic Movement C The Intrepid Foundation, serving as a wakeup call about the devastating impact of plastic pollution on Sri Lanka’s cultural heritage and wildlife which will be placed permanently at the entrance to BMICH.

“I’d like to thank our team in Colombo, Sri Lanka for putting on a world-class event. They are such an important part of our company and our customers also love visiting this incredible and vibrant country,” said CEO James Thornton. Intrepid said it will continue to invest in Sri Lanka to build more capabilities C talent to support its 2030 strategy and also will bring more 6500 customers to Sri Lanka, 51% growth from 2024 and has ambitious plans to welcome over 15,000 travelers to Sri Lanka by 2030.